Display headband

ABSTRACT

A display headband is a band which displays an indicium perpendicular to the sizable band that wraps around the head. The headband can adjust to many sizes, from a child&#39;s head to large adult size. The headband can be manufactured for many purposes of display, according to the desired indicia. This headband can be made of soft, flexible materials which can be easily folded for storage, and is lightweight but displays the indicia in an upright position perpendicular to the band around the head.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a headband with a display indicia.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Headbands are worn for personal decoration, for absorption ofperspiration and sometimes for display of a name or sponsor. Mostdisplay headbands are not worn around the head, but across the top ofthe head from ear-to-ear. This is not very stable, nor very comfortable.A more comfortable way to wear a display headband is as, for example, asizable band around the head, such as an absorbent sport band, or othertype of stretchable or sizable band that is not necessarily absorbent,with an upright indicia display. Known sport headbands may have adisplay of an indicium on the portion of the headband that lies flatabove or on the forehead. The headband presented herein is more usefulthan other display headbands, which also do not effectively display theindicia.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A display headband as described herein is a band which displays anindicium perpendicular to the sizable band that wraps around the head.This headband is advantageous because it can be made of soft, flexiblematerials which can be easily folded for storage, and is lightweight butdisplays the indicia in an upright position perpendicular to the bandaround the head. Because the band is sizable, the headband can adjust tomany sizes, from a child's head to large adult size. The headband can bemanufactured for many purposes of display, according to the desiredindicia. The applicability of the headband herein described is furtherexemplified in the accompanying drawings. It is hereby declared thatdepiction of some of the university letters and mascots or logos areprotected by trademark and/or copyright laws, recognized herein, and aredisplayed as examples of possible headbands.

BRIEF DCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a headband with a fanciful university logo;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an example headband with the letter and logoof Stanford University;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an example headband with the letter and logo ofStanford University;

FIG. 3 a is an exploded side view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of an example headband with the letterand logo of Stanford University;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of an example headband with the letter and logo ofStanford University;

FIG. 6 is a front view of an example headband with the letter and mascotof the University of Wisconsin;

FIG. 7 is a side view of an example headband with the letter and mascotof the University of Wisconsin;

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of an example headband with the letterand mascot of the University of Wisconsin;

FIG. 9 is a rear view of an example headband with the letter and mascotof the University of Wisconsin;

FIG. 10 is a front view of an example headband with the letter andmascot of the University of Texas;

FIG. 11 is as side view of an example headband with the letter andmascot of the University of Texas;

FIG. 12 is a rear perspective view of an example headband with theletter and mascot of the University of Texas;

FIG. 13 is a rear view of an example headband with the letter and mascotof the University of Texas;

FIG. 14 is a front view of an example headband with the letter andmascot of the University of Miami;

FIG. 15 is a side view of an example headband with the letter and mascotof the University of Miami;

FIG. 16 is a rear perspective view of an example headband with theletter and mascot of the University of Miami;

FIG. 17 is a rear view of an example headband with the letter and mascotof the University of Miami;

FIG. 18 is a front view of a flag headband;

FIG. 19 is a front view of a birthday cake headband;

FIG. 20 is a front view of a numbered birthday headband;

FIG. 21 is a front view of a placard headband;

FIG. 22 is a rear view in perspective of a hook-and-loop adjustableclosure;

FIG. 23 is a rear perspective view of a magnetic adjustable closure;

FIG. 24 is a front view of a screened letter/logo headband;

FIG. 25 is a rear perspective view of a screened letter/logo or placardheadband showing the sizable adjustment section attached to the screenedmaterial in the rear.

FIG. 26 is a front view of a screened mascot display headband (BowlingGreen Falcon example)

FIG. 27A is a front view of a screened letter/word display headband(University of Michigan)

FIG. 27B is a rear view of the letter/word display headband in FIG. 27A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The display headbands described herein can be worn to show support forthe wearer's sport team, whether collegiate, other school, club orprofessional, in celebration of a birthday, to support a cause, orclubs, such as sororities and fraternities, as an advertisement or todisplay any desired message. Display headbands can also be prepared withindicia for children, such as Disney characters, comic book charactersand superheroes, among others.

The headband is made of an adjustable band worn around the head and adisplay indicium attached thereto. The adjustable band is adjustable byusing any material which can be made to adjust to a person's headcircumference, such as elastic, elasticized fabric, or non-elasticmaterial such as leather, plastic, cardboard, thin foam, elasticizedfabric, rope, twine, and combinations thereof which can be made toadjust with serially placed snaps, serially placed grippers, seriallyplaced hooks and eyes, hook-and-loop fasteners, serially placed buttonswith opposing buttonhole, magnetic strips, and combinations thereof.

Any number of indicia may be removably or non-removably attached to theheadband. The indicia can be constructed of any material which can bemade into indicia or which will support the imprint or screen of indiciasuch as stiffened fabric, thin wood, thin foam plastic, thin stiffplastic, moldable plastic, rubber, cardboard, and combinations thereof.Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) foam of various thicknesses, for example, 2mm, 4 mm and/or 6 mm is a useful material for making indicia. Theindicia can be monograms, depictions of mascots, school letters, flags,names, logos, insignia, images, messages, banners, pictures, andcombinations thereof. Non-removable attachment may be achieved by theuse of glue, grommets, rivets, sewing (stitching), staples, orcombinations thereof. Removable attachment may be achieved by the use ofsnaps, grippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, buttons and buttonholes,magnetic strips, reusable adhesives or combination thereof. Thesedisplay headbands are advantageous for wearing at events attended bymany fans. In addition to being attractive, they are practical in thatthe display is not hand-held. The wearer can display his or her loyaltywithout forgoing the opportunity to clap, perform the “wave” or use thehands for other activities, such as holding food or drinks. The displayheadbands described herein are light-weight, and do not impede the viewof the wearer, or other attendees at the function, nor do theynecessitate any paint or other coloring on the body to display loyalty.Yet the display is obvious. The headbands are foldable, and can becarried easily in a pocket or bag. Should wearers hug or display othercontact, the softness of the display headbands would not cause injury toany party should they be knocked about during displays of enthusiasm.

It is clear that the logos of many institutions are protected undertrademark and copyright laws, and the figures included herein are asexamples. Likewise, any descriptions of the display headbands includesuch trademarked and copyrighted material strictly for purposes ofexemplifying the numerous applications and uses of the display headband.

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a fanciful depiction of a display headbandfor a hypothetical state university (SU) for which a dragon is a mascot.The letters SU can be formed from plastic, and the dragon mascot can beformed of plastic of the same or different thickness on which its eyes,claws and other line characteristics can be screened or printed. Themascot is non-removably attached to the letters with glue, staples,sewing stitches, rivets, or other attachment means. Alternatively, theletter/mascot or logo can be screened onto a single thickness of displaymaterial. This letter/mascot is then removably or non-removably attachedto an adjustable headband, thereby forming a display headband.

FIG. 2 shows a front view of a display headband for Stanford University,1. “S,” 2 is the school letter, and the mascot is a cedar tree, 3. The Sis formed of red 4 mm plastic foam, and the tree is formed from 2 mmgreen plastic foam. The tree is glued to the S, and this displaycombination is then glued or sewn to the adjustable headband, 1. FIG. 3shows in a side view that the display indicium is two-layered, andattached to the horizontal adjustable headband, 4 in a perpendiculardirection, 5, so that the indicium stands up from the wearer's head. Theexploded view, FIG. 3 a shows the individual layers. In the rear views,FIGS. 4 and 5, it is seen that the headband is attached to the bottomsection of the letter/mascot.

This same concept is used for the display headband for the University ofWisconsin. In this case, the mascot is a stylized Badger and the schoolletter is a stylized W. The Badger mascot picture, black on white, wouldbe screened onto a first surface of a suitable material of a suitablesize. This mascot piece would then be attached to a red “W” of suitablematerial by an attachment means, such as glue or stitching, or othersuitable type of attachment. The full logo of the red “W” and the silkscreened Badger would then be attached to a suitable red, black or whitestretchable headband to form the wearable display headband. FIGS. 6-9show the views of such a Wisconsin display headband. Alternatively, theentire letter/mascot picture can be screened onto a single piece ofsuitable material which is then attached to the sizable band.

The letters and logos of different universities present different typesof display problems. For example, the University of Texas at Austin, inFIGS. 10-13 shows how the stylized longhorn profile can be attached tothe Texas T. In this case, to have the “T” stand upright may requiremore support by having the “T” outlined on a rectangular piece of whitebackground material, and then attached to the stretchable headband.Another example of a problematic display logo is the University of MiamiHurricanes. The open “U” for the university letter would probably notstand upright, but by having the Hurricane mascot placed in the middleof the “U”, the display works and can be advantageously used for adisplay headband. FIGS. 14-17 show the display headband for theUniversity of Miami Hurricanes. In one embodiment, the Hurricanes mascotwould be screened onto the thinner foam before attachment to the “U”. Inanother embodiment, the U and Hurricane logo would be screened onto asingle thickness of display material, and then attached to the sizableband material.

Another type of display headband is, for example a flag indicium. FIG.18 shows a front view of an American flag display headband. The wearerneed not use a hand-held flag to wave at an event, as the flag displayheadband is in a continuous wave, leaving the hands free to clap or holdanything from a cup of soda to a child's hand. It is a very effectivemethod of waving a flag. As is apparent, any type of flag can bedisplayed on the display headband. The flag of choice is screened ontoone surface of the desired material, and the flag then attached to thesizable headband.

The display headband can be made for celebratory events, as well. Usingmaterials of choice, the display can be for a birthday, such as shown inFIG. 19 as a birthday cake display, for a special birthday, exemplifiedfor age 21 in FIG. 20, or for a message one wishes to display,exemplified in FIG. 21. The display indicia may be of any shape to suitany occasion or whim.

The headband can be made sizable by a number of methods. Adjustableclosure methods are known, such as spaced buttons and a button hole onthe opposite side of a band. FIG. 22 shows how a headband ofnon-stretchable material is made sizable with a hook-and-loop closure. Alength of the “hook” side of the closure, 6, long enough to offervarying possible sizes, is attached to one end of the headband, and ashorter piece of the “loop” side of the closure, 7, is attached to theother end of the headband such that the “loop” would attach to the“hook” at a size around the circumference of the head of the wearer at aplace comfortable for the wearer of the display headband.

As can be understood from the descriptions above, any display indiciacan be screened or otherwise printed onto the display material toconstruct the display headband. It is not necessary that the indicia bemulti-dimensional, although, the multi-dimensional mode is one of theembodiments.

EXAMPLES Example 1

A Stanford display headband was prepared from soft plastic foam andwoven elastic. The “S” for Stanford was shaped and cut out of 4 mm-thickred soft plastic foam. The “S” was a block letter about six inches highand four inches wide. The tree was shaped and cut out of 2 mm-thickgreen soft plastic foam. The tree was a stylized cedar tree shape aboutsix inches high and about three inches wide at its widest branch,tapering smaller to the top. A band for circling the head was cut as a 4cm (1¾ inch) wide and 47 cm (18¾ inch) long piece of 2 mm-thick graysoft plastic foam. The tree was attached to the “S” with craft glue,both in an upright position, and this combination was then attached withthe same glue to the center of the gray foam band. To adjust for thesize of the wearer's head, the ends of the gray band were each stapledto a length of 2-inch wide woven elastic (a sewing notion). The lengthof this elastic may be between about 4 inches and about 6 inches, andadjusts to various head circumferences.

Example 2

A Stanford display headband was prepared from soft plastic foam and astretchable nylon headband. The “S” for Stanford was shaped and cut outof 4 mm-thick red soft plastic foam. The “S” was a block letter aboutsix inches high and four inches wide. The tree was shaped and cut out of2 mm-thick green soft plastic foam. The tree was a stylized cedar treeshape about six inches high and about three inches wide at its widestbranch, tapering smaller to the top. The tree was attached to the “S”with craft glue, both in an upright position. The nylon headband has aneighteen-inch circumference without stretching, and can be stretched toat least twenty-five inches, generally considered a “one-size-fits-all”headband. The “S”/tree logo was then sewn to a black nylon headband withblack thread. The sewing can be performed using a sewing machine, orstitched by hand.

Example 3

A flag headband can be prepared from 2 mm EVA foam (Ethylene VinylAcetate foam) and a stretchable nylon headband. An American flag is silkscreened onto white EVA foam using blue and red dye and a 4.25-inch by5-inch die. This silk-screened flag is then sewn onto a white 2-inchwide by 7-inch long (flattened size) stretchable headband.

Example 4

A mascot only headband, for example the Bowling Green Falcon can beprepared by screening the picture of the falcon onto the 2 mm EVA foam,which is then glued onto a brown 2-inch wide by 7-inch long (flattenedsize) stretchable headband.

Example 5

A display headband for a professional sports team is exemplified by aheadband displaying the logo of the Boston Breakers Women's ProfessionalSoccer Team. The Breakers logo is screen printed onto 2 mm EVA foam andthis indicium is then sewn onto a black 2-inch wide by 7-inch long(flattened size) stretchable headband

As is clear from the foregoing description, illustrative examples andthe following claims, various modifications, additions and alternativeswill be apparent to one of skill in the art and these would fall intothe scope of the claims herein. All changes and variations are to beconsidered as equivalents, and would fall within the scope of theseclaims.

1. A display headband comprising a band adjustable along the horizontalaxis and an indicium attached perpendicular thereto.
 2. A displayheadband as in claim 1 wherein the adjustable band is constructed ofmaterial selected from the group consisting of: fabric, elastic,leather, plastic, cardboard, thin foam, elasticized fabric, rope, twine,and combinations thereof.
 3. A display headband as in claim 1 whereinthe adjustable band is made adjustable with material selected from thegroup consisting of: elastic, elasticized fabric, serially placed snaps,serially placed grippers, serially placed hooks and eyes, hook-and-loopfasteners, serially placed buttons with opposing buttonhole, magneticstrips, and combinations thereof.
 4. A display headband as in claim 1wherein the indicia is constructed of material selected from the groupconsisting of: stiff fabric, thin wood, thin foam plastic, thin stiffplastic, moldable plastic, rubber, cardboard, and combinations thereof.5. A display headband as in claim 1 wherein the indicia is selected fromthe group consisting of monograms, depictions of mascots, school letteror letters, flags, names, messages, banners, pictures, and combinationsthereof.
 6. A display headband as in claim 1 wherein the adjustable bandand the indicia are removably or non-removably attached.
 7. A headbandas in claim 6 wherein the means of removable attachment is selected fromthe group consisting of: snaps, grippers, hook-and-loop fasteners,buttons and buttonholes, magnetic strips, reusable adhesives andcombination thereof.
 8. A display headband as in claim 6 wherein themeans of non-removable attachment is selected from the group consistingof: glue, grommets, rivets, sewing (stitching), staples, andcombinations thereof.
 9. A display headband as in claim 1 comprising anadjustable band of elasticized fabric and an indicium depicting a flagscreened onto thin plastic foam.
 10. A display headband comprised of anadjustable band comprising fabric, elasticized fabric or elastic, and anon-removably attached indicia constructed of material as in claim 4comprising: a monogram, school letter or letters, mascot or logo,message indicia or a combination thereof.
 11. A display headband as inclaim 10 comprising an adjustable band of elasticized fabric and acombination of school letter or letters and depiction of a school mascotnon-removably attached thereto.
 12. A display headband as in claim 10comprising an adjustable band of elasticized fabric and a depiction of abirthday cake attached thereto.
 13. A display headband as in claim 1comprising a sizable band of elastic fabric and a message indicium. 14.A display headband as in claim 1 comprising a sizable band of elasticfabric and a school letter and logo or mascot attached non-removablythereto.
 15. A display headband as in claim 1 wherein the indicium isprinted or screened onto thin plastic foam which is non-removablyattached to a sizable band of elastic fabric.
 16. A display headband asin claim 1 wherein a message is screened onto thin plastic foam which isnon-removably attached to a sizable band of elastic fabric.
 17. Adisplay headband wherein the indicium and part of the sizable band areformed from thin plastic foam to which is attached a length of elasticfabric to effect the stretch to achieve variation in size around thehead of the wearer.